Cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular problems, and diabetes: the list of chronic diseases plaguing the American population continues to grow. While many of these diseases have a strong genetic correlation, lifestyle factors can also make a substantial impact on an individual’s likelihood of developing diseases over the course of one’s lifetime. By making these key lifestyle choices, you can improve your health and your long-term quality of life.
In this blog post, we discuss some of the http://www.maritimjatim.info/ risks of a sedentary lifestyle, and we offer some tips for helping you to break out of it and prevent potential injury. Read on to learn more about the healthy lifestyle choices you can make to help reduce your likelihood of disease.
1. Wash Your Hands
When it comes to warding off infectious and communicable diseases, nothing beats scrubbing your hands
with soap and water for 20 seconds—after shaking hands, using the restroom, right after coming home, basically anytime you potentially expose yourself to germs. Hand sanitizer is not as effective, but better than nothing in the absence of soap and running water—such as when you get into the car after leaving a store or shop. Consider a little social distancing, too—not hugging or shaking hands with people—during flu and cold season or other disease outbreaks, and make sure your vaccinations are all current.
2. Lose That Extra Weight.
Between 2017 and 2018, more than 42 percent of the American population suffered from obesity. Most people carry around what they term a little extra weight, and many Americans have little desire to do anything about it. Fast food, a high prevalence of sugar-filled treats, and a sedentary lifestyle have led to an obesity epidemic across America. Unfortunately, this epidemic also leaves Americans open to a wide range of potential health problems, including the risk of developing cardiovascular problems, diabetes, and even some types of cancer.
Get Moving
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends that healthy adults engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise, or at least 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, every week. You can break that down into a thirty-minute session five days a week for moderate exercise or engage in longer sweat sessions to help meet your requirements. The most important thing is just to get moving! As you exercise, you will burn more calories, which will help you lose any extra weight.
Avoid Excess Sugar
Eating too much sugar can substantially increase your risk of dying of heart disease, even if you do not suffer from obesity. The more sugar you eat, the greater the impact it can have on your body. Unfortunately, many common American foods have a great deal of sugar in them. Learning to identify those foods and avoid them when possible can help keep you healthier, reduce your risk of diabetes, and help you control your weight.
Eat the Right Foods
Reducing your risk of disease, as it turns out, requires more than just controlling what you do not eat. You also need to pay careful attention to what you do eat. Consuming the right foods can make a big difference, not only in your overall health, but also in your ability to prevent or stave off diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.
Reduce Your Sodium Intake
High quantities of salt, often found in packaged foods, can send your blood pressure skyrocketing, not to mention make you feel bloated and uncomfortable. Many people worry that reducing sodium intake will also reduce the flavor in their food. Over time, however, you may find that you can decrease the amount of salt you eat without realizing the flavor difference. Try gradually reducing your sodium consumption on foods you prepare yourself while also cutting out prepackaged snacks and treats. You may find that your palate changes, making you much more sensitive to foods that you once thought barely contained enough salt.
Learn How to Control Your Portion Size
American portion sizes, especially in restaurants, often far exceed the recommended serving of any given food. While working your way through a large plate of food, you may fail to realize how many calories you have really taken in, especially if you have an inaccurate view of common portion sizes. A serving of lean protein should cover approximately the palm of your hand, for example. Get a feel for proper portion sizes. You may need to weigh out and measure your foods for a while to better learn how much you should eat of each type of food. Check the nutrition information on the back of the package and adjust your portions accordingly. Over time, this can lead to significant weight loss, even without avoiding some of your favorite foods.
3. Avoid the Potential Effects of a Sedentary Lifestyle.
Increasingly, across America, many people find themselves trapped in sedentary lifestyles. Workers spend their days sitting behind desks, often can’t get up for more than a handful of times a day. In a worst-case scenario, they may even have to report visits to the restroom or risk write-ups. Unfortunately, this sedentary lifestyle causes a host of health problems and raises the risk of disease for people of any age.
You cannot undo the impact of sitting all day with a mere 30 minutes of exercise a couple of times a week. Instead, try some of these steps to help prevent you from developing the diseases commonly associated with a sedentary lifestyle, including increased risk of heart disease and diabetes.
4. Keep an Eye on Your Alcohol Consumption.
Excess alcohol consumption can put you at high levels of risk for liver disease, high blood pressure, stroke, and some types of cancer. Not only that, alcohol often contains a high number of calories, which can lead to increased levels of obesity. As you drink, keep in mind the following:
5. Avoid Tobacco and Nicotine
Smoking can cause a wide range of health complications, including cancer, heart disease, lung disease, and emphysema. Smokers also face a higher risk of developing diabetes than non-smokers. Not only that, but smoking can also cause problems with your immune system, including rheumatoid arthritis. In short, if you have a smoking addiction, and you want to decrease your risk of disease, getting rid of your cigarettes once and for all can substantially lower your risk of developing many diseases.
The positive health impacts of choosing to stop smoking begin within hours of smoking your last cigarette. The longer you go without smoking, the more you will notice your health improving. At the same time, your risk of contracting deadly diseases will be decreasing.